The evaluation of the Detroit Lions’ 90-man roster has concluded. With the final training camp practice on Thursday and preseason finale on Saturday, players have no more opportunities to prove their value on the 53-man roster. Now it’s up to the coaches and general manager Brad Holmes to get together and build their initial active roster and 16-man practice squad.
For some positions, those decisions will be easy. It appears Detroit’s running back room is relatively set with their top four options.
There are literally no decisions to be made among the specialists: the kicker, punter, and long snapper all ran unopposed.
Elsewhere, there are some serious complications. So today’s Question of the Day is:
Which position group will have the toughest roster decisions for the Lions?
My answer: Defensive backs and wide receivers.
Let’s start at defensive back: I have eight players pretty much locked into a position:
- Terrion Arnold
- D.J. Reed
- Amik Robertson
- Khalil Dorsey
- Rock Ya-Sin
- Brian Branch
- Kerby Joseph
- Avonte Maddox
But with so much versatility in that room, it’s hard to know where they need extra bodies. At outside corner, Arnold, Reed, Robertson, Ya-Sin, and Dorsey can play. At nickel, Robertson, Reed, Maddox, Branch, and Ya-Sin could all slide in. And at safety, you have Branch, Joseph, Ya-Sin, and Maddox. So, when it comes to DB9 (or DB10), it’s probably more about special teams than anything, and you could make a strong argument for three players: Erick Hallett, Loren Strickland, and Ian Kennelly. All three bring a little something different, and all three are potential special teams players, as well. But at the same time, I’m not sure any of those three have shown enough to where they would get claimed on waivers. All three could just as easily make Detroit’s practice squad as they could land on the 53-man roster.
It’s a similar conundrum at wide receiver. I think Detroit is set with five players:
- Amon-Ra St. Brown
- Jameson Williams
- Kalif Raymond
- Isaac TeSlaa
- Tim Patrick
Some would argue Patrick could be expendable, but the fact that he didn’t play in the preseason finale is certainly telling, in my opinion. The debate beyond these five his how many will the Lions keep. Is it just five, or could it be six or even seven? The two most likely players to be kept beyond the top five are rookies Dominic Lovett and Jackson Meeks, although veteran Ronnie Bell has had some strong outings, as well. Meeks has more really good tape out there and could be most likely to be claimed on waivers, but the team may have a clearer long-term plan for Lovett (Kalif Raymond replacement?). I think it’s fair to say Detroit would love to hold onto both of them, but keeping seven receivers is a lot and could leave you shorthanded elsewhere.
Which positions are toughest for you to predict when it comes to the Detroit Lions’ 2025 53-man roster? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
